Teacher Grants: Reading Matter(s)

By BRIANNA CHU
JANUARY 29, 2020

The value of books and reading is never underestimated by teachers, and their impact on Blair’s dual language immersion program perfectly demonstrates the power of a good book. Teacher Elizabeth Najera for Blair’s Dual Language Immersion Program (DLIP) knew that reading books originally written in Spanish, and not just translated into Spanish, would truly immerse the DLIP students in the intricacies and beauty of the Spanish language.

“I just want to thank PEF for everything you do for all of our students at PUSD. Thanks to you, our DLIP students and teachers have a rich variety of books to select from and that would not be possible without you.” – Elizabeth Najera, Teacher Blair Middle and High School

In 2019, the sixth grade DLIP class visited La Libreria, the only bookstore in the US that focuses on high-quality reading materials directly from Latin America and Spain, and each chose a book to read and review. The class wrote reviews, or resenas, on the books that they selected, and these resenas were then featured on La Libreria’s Facebook page. The enrichment that the students, teachers, and program will receive from these amazing books will benefit not only this current class, but every class after. Blair has had such success this year that it has led to a doubling of next year’s DLIP student enrollment.

The Pasadena Educational Foundation’s Teacher Grants help inspirational teachers throughout Pasadena Unified take their creative projects from idea to reality by providing resources to enhance the classroom experience for their students. The grants, provided directly to the teachers, benefit thousands of students in Altadena, Pasadena, and Sierra Madre.

For its 2018-19 grants, PEF is proud to provide more than $200,000 for 125 grants to 190 educators including 14 school-wide grants. PEF Teacher Grants are made possible with generous support from the College Football Playoff Foundation, Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association, FEDCO Charitable Foundation, California Community Foundation, and individual community donors. Find out more here: http://pased.org/teachers.